5 things I wish I had figured out sooner about parenting

Posted By: Katelyn/ 0 Comments/ Under: Parenting

Parenting has a serious learning curve. You figure it out as you go along. But, there are a couple things I wish I had figured out sooner because they would have made my life soooo much easier. Some of these seem so trivial, but something as simple as a clean countertop free of baby gear makes this mama so happy.

1-wash your bottles in the dishwasher every night

If you have a child or you are pregnant and you know me, chances are I have told you how life changing this was. Until BB was about 8 months, I felt like I was constantly washing bottles. We had the ugliest drying rack on our counter and it just looked like baby had exploded all over our kitchen. Until another mom told me THE BEST TIP TO DATE ABOUT PARENTING…so here it is. Buy as many bottles as your baby needs throughout the day. As they use them, rinse and put them into the dishwasher. Buy one of THESE handy gadgets to keep the bottle parts together in the dishwasher. Run it on the sanitize cycle + energy saver mode overnight and wake up to perfectly clean bottles every morning. I am constantly cooking, so our house goes through a lot of dishes and pots and pans, so the dishwasher is full by the end of the day. As BB eats her breakfast, I unload every morning and put the bottles into a cabinet. The day I realized bottles could actually be stored in a cabinet instead of on an ugly drying rack on the counter was one of the best days of my life. But really…do it.

2-don’t stress about milestones and timelines

According to most books I’ve read, my pediatrician, and my milestone apps, BB should be off her bottle by 18 months, which is in less than a month. I️ have been so stressed about such a little thing because she is not ready to give it up and maybe more importantly, I️ am not ready to give it up. Three times a day, and only three times a day, I️ get to hold my baby like she is still 2 months old. She snuggles into me and it is the best feeling in the entire world. After her bottle we read books together on the couch and it is my favorite time of the day with her. The rest of the day, she is going a million miles a minute and cannot be bothered with snuggles. My heart hurts thinking about giving up that special time with her. So this will be one timeline the Geoffrion family will be blowing past.

3-buy two of everything important

Anything essential, buy two. Buy two sheets for the crib. I will even take it a step further. Layer the crib sheets, so when it’s time to wash the top sheet, you simply pull it off, toss it in the washing machine and there is a backup sheet already in place. If your little one has a security blanket or special stuffed animal, buy a backup of the exact same thing. BB will literally stand in front of the washing machine pouting and saying “banky” until her blanket is back in her arms. And god forbid I forget to switch the blanket to the dryer before bedtime. Skip the drama and swap it out for the backup.

4-people judge, period

No matter what decision you make about parenting, someone will think it is the wrong decision. That’s ok, you know what is best and if you had decided the opposite, someone else would be judging you. Open parts of your life up to social media and the world of blogging and times that by 1000. Parenting takes thick skin, grow it sooner rather than later and ignore all the haters.

5-it’s ok to leave the house with little to nothing

For the first few months of BB’s life, every time we left the house I felt the need to have a lifetime supply of diapers, 20 pacifiers, so many wipes, toys, backup clothes and countless other things. It is sooo liberating to realize that all you need is one diaper and a tiny travel pack of wipes for trips to the park, dinners, and errands. Those two things fit in almost every purse I have.

Photography by: Cassandra Eldridge

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